I 10 Gandjar
I 10 Gandjar
I 10 Gandjar
Introduction
Traditional fermented foods have always played an important role in the daily life of Asian people. The knowhow to prepare those foods were transfered from generation to generation, very often with improvements without changing the original consistency, organoleptics, and the nutritive value of the product. The fermented foods are later studied and scientifically processed . One of the fermented foods which is very popular in Indonesia and other Asian countries is TAPAI or TAPE. The difference lies mostly in the indigenous microorganisms used.
Paper presented at the First International Symposium and Workshop on Insight into the World of Indigenous Fermented Foods for Technology Development and Food Safety, Kasetsart University, August 13-17, 2003
Tapai can be found or is made in Indonesia for many traditional ceremonies, like marriages, to welcome a new born, at religion ceremonies, also at birthday parties, or just consumed as a snack. Tapai is not always prepared in the villages, but also in the big cities and is consumed by all strata of the community, even by the high society. In Indonesia, tapai can be found in all food sections of the department stores, and packed in various forms. To prepare tapai a carbohydrate source and an inoculum containing the microorganisms is necessary. The inoculum is called ragi tapai . The success of a good tapai depends on the preparation of the substrate and of the ragi tapai. In the Philippines ragi tapai is called bubod, in Thailand look-paeng, in China peh-chu, in Korea nooruk (Steinkraus, 1996).
Ragi Tapai.
There are various methods to prepare ragi tapai. In the villages it is commonly prepared as follows (Susono et al., 1974; Susono et al., 1986): rice flour is mixed with grounded spices such as garlic (Allium sativum), roots of the plant Alpinia galanga, white pepper (Piper retrofractum), black pepper (Piper nigrum), red chillies (Capsicum frutescens), cinnamon (Cinamon burmani), the fruits addas (Foeniculum vulgare), cane sugar (Saccharum officinarum), lemon (Citrus aurantiacum var. fusca), coconut water (Cocos nucifera) (Saono et al., 1974). Some thin ginger slices or a few drops of ginger extract are mixed in the dough. Water is added to the mixture to make a thick dough which is then molded into small circular flat cakes, the size of 3 cm in diameter and 1 cm thick. Some coconut water is sprinkled (not always) over the cakes, or sometimes mixed in the dough. In the villages the cakes are placed on bamboo trays which are lined with banana leaves and then on top covered again with banana leaves. The trays are kept in a certain wind free place or room for 2-3 days. This is the natural fermentation incubator. Then the rather dry cakes are sundried and turned over several times until they are really dry. This will take about 3-4 days depending on the weather. The dry ragi tapai is put in jars or directly into polyvenil bags the size the numbers of the cakes to be stored in it (flow chart ragi
tapai). Good ragi tapai is produced in Central Java under various brands : ragi tapai NKL, Sari Madu, Sumber Urip, and Pohong Padi. In the markets are also sold another ragi tapai (Roda Mas) for the production of Brem Bali or rice wine (Gandjar et. al., 1983). As inoculum the concentration of ragi tapai is usually 0.1% (w/w). The higher the concentration of ragi tapai used the shorter incubation time is needed. However, this is often risky. In cooler ares a longer incubation period is necessary.
Tapai Fermentation
Tapai is a very popular fermented product in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia. Commonly as substrates are used: cooked rice, cooked glutinous rice of the black or white variety, or cassava tubers. Occasionally tubers of the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) are also fermented into tapai. Tapai which has a pleasant taste and aroma is consumed as a snack, uncooked, or fried in case of tubers, or mixed with wheat flour, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. Local names for tapai are ; tapai nasi (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore)), tapai pulut from glutinous rice (Malaysia), basi binubran from cooked rice (Philippines), chao made from rice (Cambodia), lao-chao, chiuniang from rice (China), khao-mak from rice (Thailand), tapai ketela from cassava roots (Indonesia, Malaysia ), peuyeum from cassava roots (West Java, Indonesia) (Saono et al., 1986; Hesseltine & Wang 1986; Steinkraus, 1996).
obtained from extract of pandanus leaves and the red colour from Angkak, a pigment produced by the mould Monascus purpureus.
Literature cited
Basuki, T. 1977. The less well-known fermented food stuffs of Indonesia. Symposium on Indigenous Ferm,ented Foods. Bangkok, Thailand. Gandjar, I., D.S. Slamet & I. Rukmi. 1983. Brem Bali Fermentation. Proceedings of the Symposium on Research in Biology and Biotechnology in Developing Countries, 26-28 National University of Singapore. November 2-4, Singapore. Gandjar, I & P Evrard. 2002. Reidentification of the mycoflora in Ragi Tapai NKL (to be submitted to the journal MAKARA) Hesseltine, C.W. & H.L. Wang (eds.) 1986. Indigenous Fermented Food of Non-Western Origin. Mycologia Memoir no 11. J. Cramer. Stuttgart. Ko, S.D. 1972. Tape Fermentation. Applied Microbiology, 23:976-978. Ko, S.D.1977. Indonesian Ragi. Symposium on Indigenous Fermented Foods. Bangkok, Thailand. Ko, S.D. 1986. Indonesian Fermented Foods not based on soybeans. In: Hesseltine & Wang (eds). Indigenous Fermented Food of NonWestern Origin. Mycologia Memoir no 11. J. Cramer, Stuttgart. Susono, S., I. Gandjar, T. Basuki & H. Karsono. 1974. Mycoflora of ragi and some other traditional fermented foods from Indonesia . Annales Bogorienses V: 187-204. Saono, S., R.R. Hull & B. Dhamcharee. 1986 A Concise Handbook of Indigenous Fermented Foods in the ASCA Countries . Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Jakarta, Indonesia. Steinkraus, K. (ed.) 1996. Handbook of Indigenous Fermented Foods . Second Edition, Revised and Expanded. Marcel Dekker Inc. New York.